Major General Frederich ('Fritz') Wilhelm Loots (19172008) was a general in the

South African Defence Force The South African Defence Force (SADF) (Afrikaans: ''Suid-Afrikaanse Weermag'') comprised the armed forces of South Africa from 1957 until 1994. Shortly before the state reconstituted itself as a republic in 1961, the former Union Defence F ...

(SADF). He was founder of the

South African Special Forces Insurgency in Cabo Delgado, The South African Special Forces Brigade, colloquially known as the Recces, is South Africa's principal Special forces, special operations unit, specialising in various types of operations including; counter-insurge ...

and their first commanding officer.

Early life and education

Born in

Britstown Britstown is a small farming town situated in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, in the Pixley ka Seme District Municipality, Emthanjeni Local Municipality. The town is named after Hans Brits who settled here after he accompanied David Li ...

on 26 April 1917, Loots was educated at Theron High School. After high school in 1936, he joined the

Special Service Battalion The Special Service Battalion (SSB) is a South African military unit formed on 1 May 1933 under the patronage of Oswald Pirow, Minister of Defence. The object was to give training to youths, between the ages of 17 and 23, who, in the wake of th ...

, a unit formed to train young men in military and work skills during the depression.

Career

In 1939, he joined the Union Defence Force in the Infantry Corps and served in World War II. By 1947 he held the rank of Warrant Officer and in 1951 he was commissioned as an officer. He held various positions as a Staff Officer in the SADF before becoming Officer Commanding the Army Gymnasium from 1959 to 1963. In 1963, he was appointed to command '' South West Africa Command'' until 1964. By 1965 he was a Senior Staff Officer at Military Intelligence and then the Director of Military Intelligence from 1966 until 1970. His last position was as Inspector General of the SADF which ended in June 1973 when he retired. He returned from retirement in August 1974 to found the South African Special Forces. In 1980 Loots led Operation Winter, which was undertaken to recruit former members of the

Rhodesian Security Forces The Rhodesian Security Forces were the military forces of the Rhodesian government. The Rhodesian Security Forces consisted of a ground force (the Rhodesian Army), the Rhodesian Air Force, the British South Africa Police, and various personnel a ...

to serve with South Africa. He continued in the SADF until his retirement on 25 April 1982. Major General Loots died on 12 August 2008.

Awards and decorations

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References

1917 births Afrikaner people South African people of Dutch descent South African Army generals South African military officers South African military personnel of the Border War 2008 deaths South African military personnel of World War II {{SouthAfrica-mil-bio-stub